ADRIAN — Lenawee Project Connect, an annual event to link people in need of social services with agencies that provide those services, will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Jan. 30 at the Merchants Building at the Lenawee County Fair and Event Grounds.

A point-in-time count of homeless people will take place the same day.

The event, sponsored by Lenawee County’s Continuum of Care, will bring together almost 60 social service agencies and resource providers to meet with those who might need help, said Lisa Riley, secretary for Continuum of Care and fundraiser for Family Counseling and Children’s Services.

Help with housing, employment, job training, medical care, food assistance and other services will be available, Riley said.

Those who attend can take advantage of free flu shots and health screenings and get a free meal, a free blanket and other cold-weather clothing items, as well as personal hygiene items, Riley said.

Some new features this year will be free haircuts on-site and a mobile food pantry, she said. Confidential AIDS testing will be available.

Participants also can take part in “make-and-take” events in which they help make home-made baby wipes, laundry soap or hot chocolate — and possibly other items — and take the product as well as the recipe for it with them, Riley said.

A local vendor is providing free Wi-Fi so service providers can help participants with applications and other needs on the spot, Riley said.

The merchants building at the fairgrounds offers the event almost three times the space it had at the Lenawee County Human Services Building, where it took place last year, Riley said.

“We’re going to be able to have a lot more services,” she said.

Some churches, Lenawee Transportation, a local taxi company and volunteer drivers all are offering free transportation to the event from anywhere in the county, Riley said. People in need of transportation will be able to call 264-6360 to get a ride, she said.

Last year, 175 people attended Project Connect, Riley said. Organizers expect more than 200 people this year, she said.

The event is being called Project Connect this year rather than Project Homeless Connect as in past years to emphasize that anyone in need, regardless of housing status, is welcome, Riley said.

Riley emphasized that the event is for anyone in the county, not just for people in Adrian.

The point-in-time count of homeless people, which will take place the same day, is required every two years by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development for communities to be able to receive federal grants to help the homeless.

As in past years, people who attend Project Connect will be asked to complete a questionnaire about their housing status, Riley said.

Page 2 of 2 - Social service agencies that deal with the homeless and some school districts also will participate in the count, she said.

Continuum of Care conducted a point-in-time count in 2012 even though it was not required by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. That count revealed 429 homeless people or people in housing crisis in Lenawee County.

Project Connect is important because people in need often find it difficult to go to all the necessary locations to get help, Riley said.

“This is a great one-day thing (where) they can come under one roof and get everything they need,” she said.